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Ashley Giessler is like most 20-somethings. She works a couple of jobs to pay the rent at her Vancouver apartment, she enjoys weekends at the coast and she has plans to someday become an ultrasound technician.

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It happened just as Jeb Bush was about to explain why he thinks conservatives need to stop being perceived as “anti-everything”: Attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference let it be known that, as part of their anti-everythingness, they are also anti-Bush.

Kelso’s Karina Paavola closed out her Linfield College career with plenty of accolades.

The senior softball pitcher was selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America team and was named the school’s Female Athlete of the Year for her role in getting the Wildcats to the postseason.

Paavola, who helped the Wildcats to their 11th consecutive Northwest Conference championship and a berth into the NCAA Division III playoffs, was named to the All-America third team, the second time she received the honor.

Paavola led the NWC with 19 victories, 175 strikeouts, five shutouts and a 1.30 earned-run average.

“Karina had a pretty dominating year,” Linfield coach Jackson Vaughan said on the school’s website. “She really developed a lot as a pitcher and learned to throw more off-speed stuff and the drop ball which she didn’t have early in her career. Adding those elements to her game really completed her as a pitcher.”

During her senior season, Paavola established career school records for victories (73) and appearances (113) while finishing second all-time in shutouts (15), strikeouts (550) and opponent batting average (.198).

Schulz paces historic Centralia run: Mark Morris graduate Megan Schulz played a key role in Centralia College claiming its first trophy at the NWAACC women’s golf tournament this spring.

Schulz, a freshman at Centralia, carded rounds of 88-81 for 169 to place fourth individually and lead the Trailblazers to a third-place finish on the Horn Rapids Golf Course in Richland.

Tournament host Columbia Basin won the tournament with 498, followed by Spokane with 531 and Centralia with 550.

Schulz was one of two freshmen named to the all-NWAACC team. Schulz earned the honor after winning individual titles at the 2013 Swanson Cup at Chambers Bay and a conference match at Horn Rapids.

Hughes shines for Hood: Clatskanie graduate and Mount Hood College sophomore Teauna Hughes was named MVP of the NWAACC softball tournament at Portland’s Delta Park.

Hughes hit 4 for 14 (.285) with three RBIs in the tournament. In addition to placing on the 2014 Louisville Slugger/NFCA NWAACC All-American team and earning NWAACC Southern Division MVP accolades, Hughes hit .481 with 14 home runs and 63 RBIs, ranking her in the conference top five in all three categories.

Castle Rock graduates Megan Moore and Maddi Klingberg and Kelso’s Macy Ruth led Centralia College into the NWAACC Tournament, and Toutle Lake’s Kyla Kent was instrumental in getting the Southwestern Oregon Lakers into the postseason.

Moore, the Western Division MVP, was the third-leading hitter in the NWAACC at .507 with two home runs, 27 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. First-teamer Klingberg hit .313 with a home run and 18 RBIs. Ruth, a freshman pitcher, was 0-2 with a 3.36 ERA.

Kent hit .372 with a home run, nine RBIs and 11 stolen bases for the Lakers.

Western Division champ Centralia went 1-2 at the tournament. Southwestern Oregon, third in the Southern Division, went 2-2.

LCC trio are Southern Division stars: Three members of the Lower Columbia College softball team — outfielders Chelsey Miller and April Wells and infielder Ashley Wells — were named to the NWAACC Southern Division All-Star team after a vote of the division coaches.

Miller was named to the first team after hitting .444 with six home runs and 27 RBIs. Ashley Wells, a shortstop, was placed on the second team with a .424 batting average, a home run and 11 RBIs. April Wells was also named to the second team after hitting .386 with 13 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.

Rick McCorkle is a sports reporter for The Daily News. Reach him at 360-577-2529 or rmccorkle@tdn.com.

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